William Kerley Disputed Origins

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surname/tag: Kerley

Disputed Origin

Most genealogies concerning William Kerley (abt.1583-1670) of the Puritan Great Migration claim he was William Kerley born about 1594/5 or William Kerley born about 1602, and that he was the son of William Kerley (1563-1626). However, there is no direct evidence indicating such a relationship, but rather the status of the PGM William Kerley's parents is unknown, as is his birth place and date.

The only information concerning the PGM William's birth year is found in a secondary source quoting a record from June 1659 which says, "William Kerley, aged about 76 years, is released from all ordinary trainings..."^[1] If the age and year are correct that puts William's birth year at approximately 1583.

To understand where the PGM William emigrated from and what the confusion might be, it's helpful to see that William apparently sailed from England to New England abord the ship Confidence in 1638. There are two transcriptions of the records of that voyage recording two different locations for William's residence: one records Ashmore, Dorset,^[2] and the other records Sudbury.^[3] (Unfortunately neither transcription includes an age for William.) The Sudbury residence is likely a mistake as the entry before William's, "Edmund Kerley," and the one after, "Edmund Morris," are both listed as from the county Dorset in both transcriptions.

A review of records in and around Ashmore indicate a handful of William Kerleys (or at least a close enough approximation of 'Kerley' - sometimes the name is mis-transcribed as 'Kesley' or a form of it) born from about 1580 to 1605, it's unclear how someone decided to assign the PGM William the 1594/5^[4] baptism record. Other online genealogies often list a 1602^[5] baptism date. The odd thing about assigning the PGM William the 1594/5 birth year is that that child most likely died before 1602 because in 1602 another child from the same father was given the name William. Hence the birth date for a still-living-in-1659 William born in 1602 makes an error of 19 years from the age 76 stated in 1659.

It seems that a more likely candidate would be someone with a birth date closer to the year 1583, such as the William Kerley baptised 12 Mar. 1583 in Horton, Dorset,^[6] approximately 25 miles from Lydlinch, the location of the other two William's birth place.

A review was conducted of all (eight) wills that could be found of people named Kerley in Dorset that were written from 1602 to 1667 which did not reveal any connections between William Kerley of Massachusetts and the Kerleys in Dorset. The name "William" only appeared a couple of times, one of which was a will of William Kirlie of 1647 who left £100 to his son William and a small amount to his godson William, but it did not indicate that either of them were not living in England.^[7] (see "Review of Wills" section below for more details about all the wills reviewed)

An interesting note concerning the William Kerley's of Ashmore is that in 1635 a William Kerley, senior and William Kerley, junior appear in Ashmore, Dorset records next to each other, but in the 1642 Protestation Returns only one is listed^[8][9] is that because one died or one of them went to New England?

Without direct evidence it seems that William's birth place, year, and parents are currently unknown.

Review of Wills

• John Kirley, Husbandman of Farnham, Dorset - 1602 - PROB 11/99/454^[10]
  • Thomas Kirley - Tanner - son of Walter Kirley
  • John Kirley - son of Walter Kirley
  • Peter Kirley - brother

• Peter Kerley, Yeoman of Farnham, Dorset - 1606 - PROB 11/108/406^[11]
  • John - son of brother Walter

• Thomas Kerley, Yeoman of Gussage Saint Michael, Dorset - PROB 11/123/670 - 1614^[12]
  • Anne Toomer - daughter
  • Elizabeth - daughter?
  • John - son

• William Kirley of Wimborne Minster, Dorset - PROB 11/151/549 - 1627^[13]
  • no Kerleys named in the will, but maybe step-children?

• Thomas Kerly, Husbandman of Horton, Dorset - PROB 11/190/486 - 1642^[14]
  • Catherine - wife
  • Elizabeth Coridge[?] - sister
  • Thomas Kerley - son of Peter Kerley
  • John Coridge son of Bartholomew Coridge [his sister Elizabeth?]
  • Bartolomew Coridge
  • Anne Coridge
  • Joane, Elizabeth & Margarett Coridge daughters of John Coridge
  • Catherine and Ellennor Kerley, daughters of Peter Kerley

• William Kerlie or Kirlie, Husbandman of Verwood, Dorset (1 mile from Horton) - PROB 11/204/554 - 1648^[15]
  • William Kerley - godson
  • Kattren Kerly - goddaughter
  • William Kerlie - son - left £100 - nothing would indicate he was not around to receive it
  • Alice - wife
  • Symond Kerley - brother
  • [???] Kirlie - brother
  • Jon/Jonas Kerlie - witness to the will
  • Alivia Kirlie found in probate - supposed to be Alice?

• Richard Kerley of Yeoman, Tarrant Gunville - PROB 11/324/115 - 1667^[16]
  • Marthe - wife
  • Magdaline Coduer[?] - daughter
  • Thomas, John, Mary Coduer[?] - grandchildren
  • Walter Kerley - grandson
  • Elizabeth Arney - daughter
  • Thomas Hathaway - grandson

• Robert Kerlye, Yeoman of Everton, Dorset - PROB11/323/351 - 1666^[17]
  • Mary - wife [last name White? as he later names brothers-in-law with last name of White]
  • [?Robert?] - son
  • Sara[?] - daughter
  • John Barber - son-in-law
  • John [P?]owers - son-in-law
  • Richard Kerley - son

Sources

1. ↑ Lucius Robinson Paige, History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877. With a Genealogical Register (Boston, Massachusetts: H. O. Houghton and Company, 1877) 401, digital image available Archive.org.
2. ↑ Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, “Passengers for New England, 1638,” in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1848) 1 (1948):108, digital images at Archive.org.
3. ↑ Charles Edward Banks, “Passengers and Ships,” in The Planters of the Commonwealth; a Study of the Emigrants and Emigration in Colonial Times... (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1930) 197, digital image available Archive.org
4. ↑ Charles Herbert Mayo, The Registers of Lydlinch, Co. Dorset (London: Priv. Print. for the Parish Register Society, 1899) 11 digital image at Archive.org; 23 Feb 1594 - Lydlinch - "Wyllyã, s. of Wylliã Kesleye, bapt."
5. ↑ Charles Herbert Mayo, The Registers of Lydlinch, Co. Dorset (London: Priv. Print. for the Parish Register Society, 1899) 14 digital image at Archive.org; 25 Jul 1602 - Lydlinch - "Wyllyã, s. of Wylliã Kesleye, bapt.".
6. ↑ "England, Dorset, Parish Registers, 1538-2001", digital image by subscription FamilySearch.org.
7. ↑ “Will of William Kerlie or Kirlie, Husbandman of Verwood, Dorset, 22 Jun 1648” PROB 11/204/554, The National Archives, Kew, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.
8. ↑ Edward William Watson Ashmore, Co. Dorset: A History of the Parish with Index to the Registers, 1651 to 1820 (Gloucester: John Bellows, 1890) 131, digital image at HathiTrust.org,
9. ↑ “Protestation Returns for Ashmore in Cranbourne Hundred” (1642), digital image of original available Parliamentary Archives.
10. ↑ “Will of John Kirley, Husbandman of Farnham, Dorset” PROB 11/99/454, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.
11. ↑ “Will of Peter Kerley, Yeoman of Farnham, Dorset” PROB 11/108/406, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.
12. ↑ “Will of Thomas Kerley, Yeoman of Gussage Saint Michael, Dorset” PROB 11/123/670, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.
13. ↑ “Will of William Kirley of Wimborne Minster, Dorset” PROB 11/151/549, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.
14. ↑ “Will of Thomas Kerly, Husbandman of Horton, Dorset” PROB 11/190/486, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.
15. ↑ “Will of William Kerlie or Kirlie, Husbandman of Verwood, Dorset, 22 Jun 1648” PROB 11/204/554, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.
16. ↑ “Will of Richard Kerley of Yeoman, Tarrant Gunville” PROB 11/324/115, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.
17. ↑ “Will of Robert Kerlye, Yeoman of Everton, Dorset” PROB 11/323/351, digital image of original by subscription The National Archives, Kew.